TP: My god si X***** is bordering on kulto na. We should not offer anyone our blind faith. If that were the case, how different would we be from Grace Poe’s core of supporters?

*one minute of venting later*

TP: As a preface to my next point, I was invited kay Risa Hontiveros' Netizens’ meet-and-greet noong Friday, I met two leaders from Filipino Freethinkers (FF) and Atty Trixie Cruz-Angeles of politics.com.ph.

JA: O tapos? Kamusta nman?

TP: Yung interv ko kay Hontiveros, not that relevant in this discussion. I’ll talk about it on some other day. Instead, it's the chat I had with Trixie, and 2 FFs that’s interesting.

JA: Anong take nila?

TP: Okay JA, I will be honest with you. There is only 1 fundamental reason why I support Duterte. He is our only chance at grabbing political power from the oligarchy and distributing it to the common Tao. The power grab will be crude, but a crude start is better than nothing.

Regarding the skewed Philippine power structure, Atty. Trixie shares the same view.

JA: That's a good enough reason.

TP: Sabi ko kasi, if I can only be given a viable non-oligarchic presidential alternative, I will jump ship, but there isn’t any.

JA: Yeah, all the other three candidates have the oligarchic Cojuangcos as the power behind the throne.

BRIEF: The phrase "power behind the throne" refers to a person or group that informally exercises the real power of a high-ranking office, such as a head of state. In politics, it most commonly refers to an associate of a political leader (often called a "figurehead") who serves as de facto leader, setting policy through possessing great influence and/or skillful manipulation.

TP: Tapos, someone from FF spewed the bullshit concept of a "benevolent oligarch". Shit like that don’t exist. That’s like saying there’s a “holy rapist”.

JA: And even if such a concept exists, who among the three (Roxas, Poe, Binay) are likely to exhibit that? Wala.

TP: Trixie and I were at a consensus that we can trace PH history to a constant rule of oligarchs since 1521, with the current set of oligarchs (Cojuangcos) lording over the country since the late 1800’s, save for a short blip from in the 1970’s and 1980’s, where a different set of oligarchs – the Marcoses and their cronies – took over. But they got the power back through 1986 EDSA People Power anyway.

TP: Anyway, my point is there are lots of Duterte super fanatics and I do not share their view. However, their support, along with their sheer number, constitute what I call a "fortunate coincidence" with respect to my political interests, being the more equitable distribution of political power.

JA: Haha, yeah. Case in point is some of Duterte’s social media supporters.

TP: Right before that rape joke, all Duterte had to do was shut up and he will win, and I am sorely disappointed by the fact that he did not. Whether the rape joke was taken in context or not is not the issue anymore. He should have learned when he cursed the pope in November 2015 that hearing-both-sides does not exist in political campaigns.

But then, his PR mistake does not contradict my reason for choosing him, so I will still support his bid, albeit more reluctantly. Duterte is a woefully sub-optimal shot at diffusing political power, but he is our only shot. More that his PR gaffe, I am more frustrated at the dearth of choices.

JA: Yeah, true. Matigas din kasi ulo ni Digong. He taunts people eh, he does not want to change at all to at least refine his image. Para bang, gusto nyo ako maging pres. deal with my crassness.

TP: That is where he just contradicted himself. He knows he will likely be a plurality president yet he wants to unite this nation. You don't unite a nation when you alienate those who didn't vote for you.

TP: I will publish this conversation on TP. Peter Lavina will likely get to read it. I don’t have direct contact with this campaign team.

JA: The thing naman with digong, he listens and backs down when he sees merit so sana makarating sa kanya na nakakasakit sa mga ordinaryong tao gaya natin who volunteers time and money and effort para sa kanya.

TP: Yeah, there are documented cases like his recalibration of the response to the Davao Airport Bombing. But that is not the issue right now. Even if he backs down, would he make it on time?

And how much would this faux pas affect his ratings, especially since at least 1 of the survey firms are patently biased in favor of the oligarchy?

BRIEF: SWS President Mahar Mangahas is Fernando Poe Jr’s first cousin, so Grace Poe is his niece.

JA: In the end, dahil wala syang pera, tayo pa rin tagasalo at taga-explain at taga-depensa. sana he makes life easier naman since critical last 20 days na.

TP: Exactly. Many Filipinos are fickle-minded, regardless of whether it's through their own fault, or through their unawareness of the fundamental political reality: that the Philippines is in deep shit because power is shared by a woefully small group of people. Pinagpapasa-pasahan lang.

TP: Yes, that statement can be used to justify a potential rigging of the succeeding pre-election surveys.

JA: Exactly. That, or the election itself. I wanted issues like this brought to Duterte’s core campaign team sana because there are pragmatic and brilliant minds there.

TP: Yes, but we have no way of contacting them. Regardless, this rape joke is Duterte’s mistake and he should own up to it. My vote is still for him because the fact remains that all the three other candidates are either oligarchs or oligarchs-in-the-making. But I will not defend Duterte regarding this issue. It's time for his campaign team to deal with it.

JA: Yeah. go. But the Duterte team should realize that they are opening a way for the enemy to cheat, Digong should stop the arte of all or nothing drama.

TP: Exactly.
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ThinkingPinoy, its contents, and its associated social media accounts were created, published, and maintained solely by ThinkingPinoy (TP) in his personal capacity. TP is not officially affiliated with any political party. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this website and its associated social media accounts are TP’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of any particular political party.